And so a few months ago, Arizona State junior Vontaze Burfict spoke to his football hero, someone who knows well the line a middle linebacker toes between aggression and out of control.

"I just spoke with him about discipline and how you need to make up your mind in life and on the field," Baltimore Ravens star Ray Lewis said. "Make sure that you are doing the right things to be a productive player and more importantly, a productive person."

Burfict is an All-America candidate. Some in college football have called him the preseason favorite for national Defensive Player of the Year. Others have labeled him as the sport's most intimidating player.

In fall camp, ASU defensive coordinator Craig Bray called most of the preseason publicity "hype." He wants to see improvement. In Burfict's pass coverage and with his focus on the position's finer points.

"He can be as good as he wants," Bray said. "It's just a matter of attention to detail, which he's improving on. And his emotional control seems to be pretty good. He's improved a great deal."

There's no better time to prove as much than in Friday's contest against No. 21 Missouri. ESPN will be on campus, which means ASU, a program starving for attention, will have the national spotlight. And it's not a stretch to say Burfict's performance will be key, a chance to turn preseason hype into regular-season reality.

Until this off-season, Burfict's behavior, at least in the media, seemed to get just as much attention as his performance. At times, his aggression was both his greatest strength and weakness, and over time it was easy to spot a pattern. Opponents would bait Burfict with a shove or trash talk, and more often than not, he would respond, drawing personal-foul penalties, an easy 15 yards.

Burfict has promised improvement - he was great in ASU's opening victory against UC-Davis - but to his conference peers, that may not matter.

"I know he's a lightning rod of sorts," Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck said, "but all that aside, he's one of the best players in the conference."

And nasty.

"I played against him in high school," USC quarterback Matt Barkley said. "He's a dirty player, but I think you kind of have to be at that position. You have to have a nasty mentality where you want to take everyone's head off, and he has it."

On Aug. 6, at ASU's local media day, coach Dennis Erickson praised Burfict's maturity. The linebacker for the first time had been named a Hard Hat Award winner, given to those who excel in off-season workouts. He also had not been as disruptive, taking camp skirmishes too far, as he had done in the past.

Erickson called Burfict a leader because of the energy he brings the Sun Devils defense. The next day, SportsbyBrooks, a sports blog, reported that Burfict was involved in a locker-room fight that happened days before ASU's media day, ripping Erickson for his maturity comments.

An ASU spokesman confirmed an altercation but called most of the internet report "completely false." In a rare, albeit short interview with The Republic, Burfict expressed regret: "I learned my lesson, and I'm just ready to move on from that," he said.

It's worth noting that ASU is not doing much to promote Burfict as an All-America candidate. In the school's release before the season opener, ASU's special-teams accomplishments are listed before Burfict's preseason honors. Also interesting: Teammates didn't select Burfict as a team captain, choosing instead senior linebacker Colin Parker.

Perhaps everyone is simply waiting. To see if Burfict takes the next step, from second-team All-Pac-10 selection, as he was last season, to one of the top defensive players in school history. To see if he can dominate without letting his emotions draw penalty flags.

As Baltimore's Lewis knows, it's not always easy.

"Absolutely, it was hard to learn," Lewis said, "but it is possible for a middle linebacker with passion to do that. I had a ton of help from great coaches. Coach Randy Shannon was instrumental in helping me channel what I needed to do to be successful. You need to make the decision yourself, then your coaches can help you be the best you can be."

Teammates insist Burfict is on his way.

"He's the Player of the Year," senior cornerback Omar Bolden said. "You can quote me on that. He's the Player of the Year. There's not going to be one linebacker better than him in the nation."

UP NEXT: ASU at UTAHWhen: Saturday @ 12:30 p.m.Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake CityTV: FSAZ (Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt)Radio: 620 KTAR-AM (Tim Healey, Jeff Van Raaphorst)Noteworthy: ASU and Utah, former conference rivals in the WAC, have not played since 1993... the Sun Devils lead the all-time series 16-6... ASU won 47-19 in its last visit to Salt Lake city in 1977. | ASU is favored by 4 points